STRINGSCALES

E♭ minor Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11

A string: Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

D string: Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db at frets 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11

G string: Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb at frets 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11

B string: Cb, Db, Eb, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb at frets 0, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12

High E string: F, Gb, Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb at frets 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11

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Eb minor

The minor scale, also called natural minor or aeolian, shares its notes with the major scale three frets up but centers them on a darker home chord. The flat 3rd sets the minor sound, and the flat 6th gives it the heavy, melancholic pull that drives rock, metal and film ballads. Compare it with the harmonic and melodic minor, which each raise degrees to strengthen the resolution to the root.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

E♭

i

E♭m
F

ii°

Fdim
G♭

bIII

G♭maj
A♭

iv

A♭m
B♭

v

B♭m
C♭

bVI

C♭maj
D♭

bVII

D♭maj

Characteristic note: B (b6), the flat sixth that separates natural minor from dorian.

Same notes, different mode

Eb minor uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

F locrianGb major · relative majorAb dorianBb phrygianCb lydianDb mixolydian

minor in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Anchor your Eb minor phrases on the flat 3rd (Gb) and flat 7th (Db); they are what separate the minor sound from Eb major.
  • Let the flat 6th (B) fall to the 5th (Bb) at phrase endings for the classic minor lament.
  • Solo over a i-bVI-bVII vamp in Eb minor: all three chords live inside the scale, so every scale tone works somewhere.
  • Swap to Eb harmonic minor on the V chord (raise bVII (Db) to VII) to hear why that raised 7th exists, then fall back to natural minor on the i.

How to play E♭ minor on guitar

Capo at fret 1 turns this key into D minor, so open-position minor shapes come back after the barre-heavy default. Without it, only the open B string belongs to the scale, as Cb, the minor sixth. Roots stay fretted: fret 1 on the D string keeps them low, and fret 11 on both E strings anchors the upper box, which means barre technique does nearly all the work here. F# major shares every note.

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